The present disclosure relates generally to steering wheels, and especially to an armature for a steering wheel and method of making the armature.
Steering wheels often include a metal armature that forms the spokes and rim of the steering wheel. The metal armature is then encapsulated by an appropriate covering material, such as wood or elastomeric material. However, disadvantages of metal armatures include heavy weight and high mass moment of inertia.
Accordingly, alternatives to metal armatures are desired. U.S. Pat. No. 7,597,028 discloses an integrally molded composite steering wheel. Despite these advances, however, there continues to be a need for lightweight, high strength steering wheel assemblies, especially armatures for automotive steering wheels.